A Perfect World 5: Awakening of the Pi'illo Kingdom-Part One
by Random Dawn 14
Summary: Dawn and Dusk are joining Mario and Luigi on an exploration to a forgotten island called Pi'illo Island! But what caused the fall of the great kingdom on the island? Something evil? And could that evil still be lurking the island...? May contain spoilers for Mario and Luigi Dream Team.
1. A New Adventure

**See how quickly I wrote this after finishing Home is Where You're Loved? I told you I was excited to get going on this. :D**

**I just know this will be fun to write, and I hope you'll all find it fun to read.**

* * *

"What do you think?" Dusk whispered. "Is he someone important?"

"He must be," her sister, Dawn, whispered back. "He has a Star Sprite with him. Star Sprites don't hang around with just anyone."

It had been a few months since Dawn's Aunt Daisy and Uncle Luigi adopted Dusk in the spring. Now it was just the beginning of summer, and the two girls were overjoyed to be a part of a gathering called when a strange boy not much older than themselves came asking to speak with Dawn's father Mario and Luigi, who was, of course, Mario's brother. The sisters felt pleased to be there; usually during such meetings they weren't allowed to hang around.

At last Princess Peach spoke, starting the meeting.

"Would you please tell us your name and explain why you've come here?"

The boy nodded. "My name is Dominic, and this Star Sprite here is my friend Starlow."

"Hello yello!" the little floating yellow ball said cheerfully.

"We're researchers in a group of people who believe that darkness and evil lurk this world. We often do field work together and search for artifacts of darkness, then if we can we contain it to bring back and study."

"But evil was wiped out _many _years ago," Mario said, looking skeptical. "And what does that have to do with why you're here?"

"Please, allow me to finish explaining. Most might _think _evil has been wiped out, but our group has actually found a few artifacts of darkness, such as the Chaos Heart."

Nearly everyone in the room gasped. Could this boy be telling the truth? Could such an evil thing that had supposedly been destroyed so long ago really still be around?

"Not to worry," Dominic said, "We have it safely contained in our secret lab. It can't harm anyone."

"That can't be true," said Toadsworth, Peach's elderly adviser. "Surely you jest!"

Dominic glanced at the old Toad. "I kid you not. Evil is out there, although it hides itself nowadays. Coming to why me and Starlow have come here, have anyone of you ever heard of Pi'illo Island? It's not far south from here."

"Pi'illo Island?" Luigi asked. "As in, the island that was said to have been the home of living pillows known as Pi'illo folk?"

"That's right. The story goes all of the Pi'illo folk just disappeared one day, without any reason at all. We believe something truly evil must be to blame for that."

"Why come see us then?" Mario asked. "It seems to me you're wasting time telling us about it when you could be off searching for yourself."

"The island hasn't been explored in a really long time," Starlow explained. "So we wouldn't know what to expect. It could be dangerous to go by ourselves. And, well... We heard you and your brother used to go on adventures in less than safe territory all the time, fighting monsters and even finding treasure sometimes."

"They used to be adventurers?" Dusk asked in whisper.

"Yeah," Dawn whispered back. "I guess Luigi hasn't told you any stories about their adventures yet."

"The bottom line is," Dominic said, ignoring the whispering girls, "we've come to ask for you to join us and keep us safe. Who knows? Together we might find out what really happened to Pi'illo Island. Should that actually happen, of course you can take the credit. Starlow and I only want to protect the world from any evil that may still be around."

Mario looked thoughtful as he thought it over.

"What do you think, Luigi? Neither of us has been on an adventure since both sets of twins were born."

"True. But we should think it over a little before deciding."

"We were hoping to leave in a week from today," Dominic said. "But take all the time you need to decide. We'll stay in Toad Town until you have an answer for us. You can find us in room two-oh-six of the Mushroom Hotel."

With that, the dark-haired boy and the Star Sprite took their leave.

* * *

A few days past before Mario and Luigi decided yes, they would like to join Dominic and Starlow on their exploration of Pi'illo Island.

The two girls were sad their fathers would be gone for a while, but at the same time they were happy for them. The brothers hadn't done any kind of exploring in a long time, so they were excited to be doing it again.

The night before they were to leave, Dusk sat in her parents' room saying good bye to Luigi. He and Mario were leaving early the next morning so he would be gone when she woke up. Daisy was in the next room putting Baby Luigi and Baby Daisy to bed.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Oh, not too long. The island's not that big, so I'm sure we'll be back before school starts."

"Be careful, okay?" You never know what you could run into there."

Luigi chuckled and kissed the girl on the forehead.

"Don't worry about us, Dusk. We'll be fine. There probably aren't many living things on the island, let along monsters that will attack us."

"If you say so." Dusk was quiet for a moment before adding, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, kiddo. We should both get some sleep now."

The girl ignored this comment and snuggled close to her father.

"What's it like? Going on an adventure somewhere?"

Luigi sighed and put an arm around her.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "And the thought of going somewhere that hasn't been explored in years is exciting. You know...wait here."

"O-okay..."

Dusk was mystified as Luigi left the room and went down the hall to Mario and Peach's room. What could be on his mind? He was gone for about ten minutes before returning with a smile upon his face.

"Dusk, you and Dawn should come with us."

Dusk blinked in surprise. "What?! Oh my Grambi...are you serious?!"

Luigi laughed. "Yes. The odds of the island being dangerous are low, and as I said earlier we should be back before school starts. In fact, if we learn anything about the history of the Pi'illo folk, you could both write extra credit reports for history class."

"This is...so sudden. Won't Peach and Daisy need help taking care of the babies? Wait. Peach and Daisy are okay with this?!"

"Yeah. They're both understandably worried, but they agreed this could be a great experience for you two."

Dusk jumped up off the bed, eager to inform her sleeping sister of the sudden change in plans. Before doing so, she hugged Luigi to thank him for letting them go along and then bid him good night.

In Dawn's room, the brown-haired girl was fast sleep.

"Dawn! Wake up, I have exciting news!"

Dawn gave a sleepy groan and glared at her sister.

"Dusk, what are you doing? I was having a very nice dream and you ruined it."

"Dawn, we have to pack quickly. We get to go to Pi'illo Island, too!"

The girl sat up quickly. "Wait, what? We're going, too?"

Dusk explained as best as she could, but in her excitement she spoke a bit fast. Luckily Dawn understood her for most part.

"Okay, I see." Dawn retrieved her laptop from under her bed. "I'll just send an e-mail to the gang letting them know what's happening, since we can't tell them in person."

"The gang" referred to her friends Star, Fawful, Mimi, and Dimentio. Of course, over time since meeting her, they had become Dusk's friends, too.

"Why don't you seem more excited?"

Dawn offered an apologetic smile. "I'm too tried to be all hyper like you are, but I'm still excited."

"Ugh, whatever. We have to get ready then get some sleep so we won't be tired in the morning. This is so exciting; we'll get to see what it's like to go on an adventure!"

Little did they know just kind of adventure was in store for them...


	2. Storm Panic

**I have nothing to say really...expect that my hands are cold. =/**

**The Chortling Mermaid: That's all a part of the fun in writing APW for me; I use characters and setting from the Mario world, but make my own plots and stories. Kind of like paper dolls, ha, ha!  
I guess you'll have to wait and see. ;)  
**

**Here is the next update! :D**

* * *

Dawn stared out at the ocean ahead with slight worry. She along with the others going to Pi'illo Island had been sailing for around four hours now, and they seemed to heading into a storm.  
Dusk, who wasn't as worried, smiled reassuringly at her sister.  
"Relax, Dawn. It's just a little storm. It probably won't do much more than rock the boat a bit."  
"I guess… It's just that I didn't realize there was going to be a storm. It's like it came out nowhere."  
"Eh, it happens," Dusk said with a shrug. "But it's all part of the adventure! Getting hit by surprises like this."  
"You know…you really seem into adventures suddenly. Have you always been this adventurous and I didn't notice before?"  
Dusk blushed a bit. "I guess all the excited energy from the others has me excited, too. But I'm enjoying the trip so far, and I can't wait to see what the island will be like. Who knows; maybe when we get a little older we can go adventuring to places like Pi'illo Island together. We'll be like Mario and Luigi, only sisters."  
Dawn laughed. "I think after this I'll stick to studying the creatures of our world and showing how train most of them to be like pets. After all, Chain Chomps make nice pets after you train them, so why not other 'dangerous' creatures?"  
"Hmm…that actually sounds like fun. But wouldn't you have to travel to learn about different species?"  
"True…I guess we'll see what the future has in store for us."  
Around that time the rain started to fall. At first it was just a light sprinkle, but within minutes it was pouring down heavily.  
Unfortunately, the boat they had rented back on the mainland of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't have much shelter, so they all had to endure getting wet.  
"Well, if you girls didn't have time to shower this morning, here's your chance," Dominic joked walking up behind them.  
"Nah, I'm good," Dusk said. "It's too cold for a shower. Besides, why would a nice boy like you suggest that us girl strip down to shower in front of you?"  
The dark-haired boy grinned. "Who ever said I was a nice boy?"  
"You better not let Mario or Luigi hear you say things like that," Dawn warned him."  
"Ha, ha, I'm just kidding around. Seriously, I'm not that kind of guy. Anyway, Starlow would be crushed if I cheated on her."  
"Very funny," the Star Sprite said sarcastically. "We're just partners."  
"Hey, I thought we were friends, too!"  
"Alright, we're partners _and _friends." A brief gust of wind pushed Starlow a few inches away, forcing her to fight against it. "Ugh, this wind is pretty strong."  
Dominic looked concerned, no longer in a joking mood.  
"Hey, you better stay close, Starlow. A good long gust that strong could blow you away really far from the boat."  
"I know, I'll be careful. Luckily that gust was short and didn't take me very far."  
"Do you think we're almost to the island?" Dawn asked. "All the rain makes it hard to see if we're close or not."  
"Hmm…" Dominic stared out ahead, but as Dawn had noted, it was hard to see through the rain. "I can't say for sure…but we must be close. With any luck the storm will die down soon so we don't risk going past the island."  
"Yeah, that would be annoying," Dusk agreed. "Hey, wait… Look over there! Land!"  
"Whoa, you're right!" Dominic looked excited. "That must be it! Pi'illo Island!"  
Their celebrating was cut short by an unexpectedly strong flurry of wind rolled by and tried to carry Starlow out to sea! Dawn moved quickly and, with one hand holding tightly to the metal railing that ran around the boat, she leaned out until her stomach was pushing into the railing and managed to grab the Star Sprite's foot before she could be blown too far away.

Oh! T-thank you, Dawn!" Starlow said, sounding frightened.  
Dominic, who had looked terrified when Starlow was almost carried away, sighed in relief.  
"Good catch, Dawn! Starlow! Are you okay?"  
"I-I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."  
Dawn was doing her best to keeping hanging on, but the metal was slippery from being wet, and the wind and rocking of the boat was making the task of not falling overboard very hard.  
_Okay, I'm hanging almost half-way over the railing, but I can fix this! First things first; I have to get my feet back on the deck. No big deal…  
_Before she could that, however, a large wave tossed the boat a bit, causing Dawn to lose her grip on the railing.  
Dusk screamed in horror as her sister and the Star Sprite still in her hand were thrown into the rough water.  
Seeing Dawn struggling to stay afloat while hanging on to Starlow, Dominic didn't waste any time jumping in to help her.  
"Are you freaking crazy?!" Dusk yelled at him.  
Hearing the yelling, Luigi hurried over to Dusk.  
"What happened?!"  
"Dawn tried to save Starlow from a large gust of wind," Dusk explained quickly. "But she lost her grip and fell into the water. Then Dominic jumped in to save both of them!"  
"Oh my Grambi!" The man looked out into the water franticly searching for a sign of two children and the Star Sprite. He relaxed a little when he found them, but by then they had been pushed too far out to be rescued.  
"Hey!" Dominic yelled as loudly as he could to be heard on the boat. "We're close to the island! We'll swim to land and meet up with you later!"  
"Are you sure you can make it?" Luigi called back worriedly. "And if you _can _make it, where will we meet?"  
"There should be a place dock the boat on the northwest side of the island; it's more or less a straight path to the castle! We'll meet there! And don't worry, Luigi; I'll take care of Dawn!"  
"Be careful out there!" Luigi sighed before saying to Dusk, "I don't like the idea of them being out there alone, but with how bad the storm is, it wouldn't be safe to try and go after them. We could lose control of the boat and hit them."  
"What's going on?" Mario called out. As worried as he was, he couldn't check it out for himself because he was the steering the boat.  
Luigi went to tell Mario what had happen and what the plan was, leaving Dusk to stare out at the sea and worry.  
_Please…let them be okay…  
_

* * *

"Come on, Dawn, hang in there!"  
"I'm doing my best, but I'm getting tired. How close are we to land?"  
"Just a few feet away," Dominic answered. "We have to keep going."  
The two had been working together to fight the waves pushing them away from the island for half an hour. With Dawn having one arm around Dominic and the other keeping Starlow above the water, so the boy had to work extra hard to keep them both from drowning.  
Finally, they touched land.  
Dominic helped Dawn out of the water before pulling himself up onto the island.  
"Are you two okay?" he asked.  
The girl and the Star Sprite assured him they were cold and wet but otherwise fine.  
"Good. We should find somewhere dry to rest and wait the storm out. Then we'll meet up with the others at Pi'illo Castle."  
"How well you know the island?" Dawn asked.  
"Not as well as I'd like to. I only know what I've read in books."  
The girl looked around. "So…do you know where we are?"  
"Not a clue…" Dominic also looked around. "It looks like a town. It's in bad shape, but there seem to be some building that are still standing. We'll take shelter in one of them."  
They walked around the town until they found a building that didn't look like it would cave in and collapse.  
"Looks like it was a store," Dominic mused. "Listen, I want to look around a bit and maybe figure out just where on the island we are. You two wait here until I come back."  
"I hope he won't be gone too long," Starlow said looking worried.  
"He seems smart; I doubt he'll out there very long." Dawn lay down on the floor to rest a little. After the scary experience she had just been through she was tired.  
Bored, Starlow floated around the building to explore. She was a little weary, too, but didn't want to rest quite yet.  
Suddenly something on the floor caught her eye. She floated closer to it and saw what appeared to be a pillow shaped rock.  
"Weird… Hey, Dawn. Come look at this."  
Although she was annoyed her nap had been interrupted before she could even fall asleep, Dawn went over to the Star Sprite.  
"What is it?"  
"I'm not sure. It looks a bit ominous, though."  
"Looks like a pillow." Dawn touched it and was surprised to find that even though the rock was cold, there was a bit of warmth coming from it. "Starlow…this rock feel kind of warm. Almost like it's alive…"  
"It's a rock, Dawn," Starlow pointed out. "How could it be alive?"  
I don't know. I'm just saying it feels warm; I can't say for sure it's alive."  
The Star Sprite looked over the stone in confusion.  
"This is so odd... What could it be?"  
"Who can say? But I'm going to try and sleep again." Dawn looked thoughtful. "What if I slept on it?"  
I don't know, Dawn..." Starlow sounded uneasy. "I have a really bad feeling about this thing. I can sense some sort of darkness emitting from it."  
"Oh, come on. You said yourself it's just a rock. How evil could it be?"  
With that, Dawn got comfortable and lay her head the stone pillow.  
"Oh..."  
"What's wrong?" Starlow asked nervously.  
"Nothing. It's just that...for a rock...this is pretty comfy..."  
After giving a content sigh, the girl fell asleep.  
"...she fell asleep just like that? I guess she was _really _tired after our little sea adventure," Starlow mused to herself. "But still...I'm worried about the darkness I sense. I hope she'll be okay..."

* * *

"Huh? Where...is this?" Dawn looked around, and found herself in what seemed like a distorted version of the town she had just been in. "How did I get here...?"  
The girl thought hard and tried to remember. She recalled Starlow finding an odd rock pillow and going to sleep on it, but why was she suddenly here?  
"Maybe...I'm having a dream based on the things I saw in the town. This feels so real, though. Could I be lucid dreaming?"  
_"Oh? A human?"  
_The girl jumped. She had thought she was alone, but it seemed there was someone—or something—else there with her.  
"U-um...who are you? And...where are you?"  
_"I will explain later... Please, come this way..."  
_"Where 'this way'?" Dawn wondered out loud.  
There was no answer this time.  
The voice _had _sounded weak, though. Perhaps whoever had spoken didn't have the energy to talk again. Clearly this person—whoever they were—needed help.  
And Dawn was the only one who could help them.  
"Well...why not? What's the worst that could happen, after all?"  
She walked straight ahead, hoping it was the right way to go. She had to overcome a couple of obstacles, but in no time the girl found herself staring at a large purple rock floating above the ground.  
Somehow she just knew this was where she had to be.  
"What is this?" she wondered out loud, placing a hand on the rock.  
It was warm, like the pillow.  
"Hey, are you, um, in there?" Dawn asked softly, hoping for an answer. And to her relief she got one.  
_"Yes. Can you...set me free?"_  
"Sure... But how—" Suddenly she knew what she had to do.  
All of the years she had spent breaking blocks back home to find strange items and even coins were about to pay off.  
"Don't worry," she said as she walked a few feet away to get a running start. "I'll get you out of there soon."  
Once she was ready, Dawn ran as fast as she could and when she was under the rock, she jumped up and hit it. She didn't do as much as she thought she might, but Dawn could see she had caused a few cracks to form.  
Encouraged by this, she backed up and did another running start punch, damaging the rock even more.  
_Just one more should do it_, she thought.  
This time there was no need to get a running start.  
Before she could worry about what might be waiting to be freed, Dawn jumped for the final time and broke the rock open.


	3. Trapped in a Dream

**So...I have no new reviews for answer before the chapter. ^^;**

**I guess people aren't enjoying this APW as much as the others. That makes me sad because I'm having a good time writing this one. :(**

**Enjoy?**

* * *

"Dominic!"

The boy looked up at the sound of his name, but seeing no one shook his head and decided he had been hearing things.

He had been exploring the town for a while, but found no clues as to where on the island he, Dawn, and Starlow were.

"There must be a sign or something _somewhere_!" Dominic said to himself, getting frustrated.

"Dominic! Where are you?"

There was that voice again. It sounded like Starlow...

The boy turned and gasped when he saw the Star Sprite fighting the wind to get to him.

"Starlow!" He hurried to her. "What are you doing out here? I told you and Dawn to wait for–where _is_ Dawn?"

"Dominic, you won't believe what happened," Starlow said, looking and sounding excited. "While we were waiting for you to come back, I found this weird rock thing that looked like a pillow. And Dawn was tired so she slept on it. A-and then just a few minutes ago she woke up and the rock pillow started moving, and–"

"Get to the point, Starlow!" Dominic said. "Did something happen to Dawn?"

"No, she's fine. But we... Dominic, the rock was actually one of the lost Pi'illo folk!"

Dominic was so shocked he had to sit down on the wet ground.

The Pi'illo folk...were still around?!

Starlow looked worried. "Dominic? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. But the Pi'illos were wiped out...it's been over a thousand years...how can they still be alive?!"

"Please calm down!"

The boy sighed. "Sorry. It's just that...since I was a little kid I've been fascinated with the history of Pi'illo Island. And I never thought I'd have the chance to meet a real Pi'illo."

"You never told me that... Anyway, we don't quite have the full story of what happened to them yet. But Dawn and the Pi'illo are waiting for us at what was once a hotel. There are towels we can use to dry off and blankets to keep us warm until the storm blows over. It will be a better place to stay than that store."

Starlow lead her friend across town to the hotel. Like the store, the building was still standing, but it was clear it was in bad shape.

"The roof leaks in some places," Starlow said, "but it will do until the rain clears up."

Dominic followed her to a room with the door missing and found Dawn and the Pi'illo both sound asleep already. The girl was half sitting half laying down on a bed, and her new little friend was laying with their head on Dawn's chest.

Staring at the tiny being sleeping peacefully, Dominic had no doubt it really was a Pi'illo.

The boy sat down on the foot of the bed, still slightly in shock.

"I don't believe it," he whispered, his voice filled with awe. "One of the Pi'illo folk..."

"I told you so," Starlow said in whisper as she used her feet to pick up a towel and give it to Dominic.

"Did you learn anything about him or the Pi'illos in general before he fell asleep?" The boy glanced at the yellow and orange colored Pi'illo again and frowned thoughtfully. "Wait. Is that even a boy Pi'illo? Or are they a girl?"

"Starlow giggled, trying to stay quiet. "Yeah, Bedsmith is a boy. But other than his name, we don't know a thing. He was understandably scared at first, so I thought it might not be good idea to ask questions right away. It looks like he's more relaxed now, though."

"Yes, we'll have time to ask question later. First we should focus on reuniting with the others."

Starlow nodded in agreement.

The boy started rubbing his hair with the towel to dry it when the Star Sprite began to giggle some more.

"What it now?"

"I just noticed; they both fell asleep with their glasses on."

The boy chuckled a bit. It wasn't exactly something worth laughing at, but after what they had been through, it was nice to laugh at something.

"Hey, guys," Dawn whispered, opening her eyes and yawning. "When did you get here?"

"Sorry, Dawn," Dominic said. "Did we wake you?"

"I'm not sure... But it's alright if you did. Did you figure out where we are?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Dawn...do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The girl gave a sleepy smile. "Let me guess; you want to hear about my 'great Pi'illo rescue mission'."

"Rescue mission?" Having finished drying his hair, Dominic began to gently dry off Starlow's body.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. Starlow told you about finding a rock that looked like a pillow, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well, after our little swim in the sea I was pretty tired so I took a nap on the rock. And...I had an interesting dream."

After getting dry, the Star Sprite sat down next to Dominic, eager to hear the story as well. She didn't have time to get the details of Dawn's experience before because she had to find Dominic.

"In my dream I was in this town, but it seemed off, so I figured I was dreaming."

"Off how?" Starlow asked.

"It's hard to explain. Anyway, it was like lucid dreaming and I was in full control of my body. I wandered around a bit before I heard a voice calling out me..."

She continued to recap what had happened in her dream up to when she found the weird purple rock.

"When I hit for the third time," she was saying, "it shattered and set him free. Soon after I woke up and the next thing I know the rock pillow isn't a rock anymore, but one of the lost Pi'illo folk."

"Hmm..." Dominic looked thoughtful. "From what you said, it seems like this Pi'illo was trapped in his pillow form all this time. And by setting him free in a dream while sleeping on him...you allowed him to be free in the real world!"

Dawn tilted her head. "'Pillow form'? You mean...that was a natural form for him?"

"Oh, yes. According to the legends anyway. They say the Pi'illos could turn themselves into actual pillows for humans for sleep on and take them to the Dream World, a place where lucid dreaming was much easier."

"Oh, I see now. So that's why it felt like a lucid dream; because it was one."

"Right. I guess being in pillow form is like being asleep, but if that's the case..."

"For someone who's been asleep for over a thousand year, he sure is tired," Starlow finished.

"Exactly. But now that we know the Pi'illos were sleeping for all those years, one question still remains; what cause them all to become trapped in their pillow forms?"

"Dominic, what if the darkness we're looking for is the cause of all this? Depending on what kind of evil we find, it could explain everything."

"Yes, you're right, Starlow." Dominic turned to Dawn. "Hey, you haven't said anything for the past few minutes, Dawn. What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired still, I guess."

Let's all get some rest," Starlow suggested. "Then we'll be ready for our journey to the castle when the storm ends. We can ask Bedsmith if he'll take us there."

"Good idea," Dominic said as he lay down on a bed on the other side of the room. "I was a little worried at first that we might end up wandering around for a while before finding Pi'illo Castle, but now that we have someone who knows the island, it shouldn't take very long to get there.

Starlow made herself comfortable on the pillow next to Dominic's and was about to doze off when her friend whispered, "You know, Starlow, legends aren't always one hundred per cent correct, but there's one thing from the legend about Pi'illos that's proving to be true."

"Oh? What's that?"

The boy looked across the room at the other bed and smiled.

"Pi'illos and humans get along really well. I mean, just look at that; not even an hour after meeting Dawn, and it looks like he completely trusts her."

Starlow did her best to shrug. "Well, she _did _save him from an endless sleep. I think he has great reason to trust her."

"Maybe you're right..."

The two fell asleep, leaving Dawn the only one awake.

_There are still other Pi'illos out there_, she thought to herself. _Bedsmith's friends and family...we have to save them, too._

She gently put her arm around the sleeping Pi'illo and closed her eyes.

_Don't worry, Bedsmith. I promise we'll free all the other Pi'illo folk._

* * *

Dusk was frantic as she ran through the dark hallways of Pi'illo Castle looking for her Uncle Mario.

Minutes earlier Luigi had found a rock that was shaped like a pillow and on a whim went to sleep on it.

Soon after some sort of portal appeared above his head, causing Dusk to become uneasy. And when she couldn't get him to wake up, the girl full out panicked and went to get Mario for help.

_Where could he be?! I've got to find him!_

Finally, she found her uncle exploring the castle.

"Dusk? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Out of breath, she explained the problem as best as she could. "Rock...Luigi...asleep...won't wake up..."

"What?" Mario wrinkled his face in confusion. "Take a moment to breathe and tell me what's up."

Dusk did as she was told and took a few deep breaths before saying, "We were looking around the castle, and we found this weird rock that looks like a small pillow. Then Luigi went to sleep on it and this portal appeared out of nowhere right above him! And...I can't get him to wake up now!"

The man in red gasped. "Where is he, Dusk?"

"In the main room where we first entered the castle. Come on!"

Concerned for his brother's well being, Mario hurried after Dusk as she led the way to where Luigi was sleeping. When they got there, he stared in shock at the colorful portal above the younger man's head.

"What..._is _that?!" He rushed to his brother's side and shook his shoulders. "Luigi, wake up!"

The man stirred, but remained asleep.

"Come on, man! You have to get up! I have to know you're okay..."

"I already told you, Dusk said, starting to tearful. "He won't wake up."

"Luigi...please, wake up..." Mario felt the tears run his face. How could this happen to his baby brother? Would he ever be able to wake up again?

The man realized there was only one thing to do. He stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I'm going in."

Dusk looked startled. "W-what?"

"I'm going into the portal. It might have something to do with why he won't wake up. Stay here, Dusk. Stay here and don't go anywhere, understand?"

"Y-yes. I understand." The girl wanted to go in the portal with him, but his tone of voice was so serious she didn't dare to argue with him about it.

Dusk watched as Mario jumped into the portal.

"Be careful in there," she whispered. "And do your best. Like you always do."

* * *

_Is this...Luigi's dream? But it looks like the castle still..._

Mario looked around, wondering how jumping through that portal took him back to Pi'illo Castle.

After jumping in, he had blacked out for a few moments then woke up, apparently still in the castle.

_No, wait! It looks like the inside of Pi'illo Castle, but it feels different somehow. Like it isn't real._

"Mario! What are you doing here?"

Mario turned around and gasped loudly when he saw his brother standing there.

"Luigi?! But, isn't this your dream? How can you be here?"

Luigi smiled. "I'm just the dream version of myself, I guess you could say. Please, call me Dreamy Luigi, bro. Anyway, how did you get here?"

Mario did a sweatdrop. _Dreamy Luigi, huh?_

"There's this weird portal above your head. You need to wake up right now. Me and Dusk have been worried about you."

"I know; I could hear you two calling me." Dreamy Luigi looked serious. "I've been trying to wake up for a while now, but something's stopping me for whatever reason. I think it has something to do with the rock I'm sleeping on in the real world. It must have cause the portal you told me about, too."

"Then we'll explore this dream together and find out what it is!" Mario said determinedly.

Dreamy Luigi gave a nod and smiled. "I knew you would say that. Once I realized I couldn't wake up, I did some exploring of my own and found something I wasn't sure what to do with. It's over here."

The dream version of Luigi took his brother to an odd purple rock floating above the ground.

"What do you think it is, Mario?"

"Hard to say... But seems kind of out of place, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Luigi–er, Dreamy Luigi; like you're just a dream version of yourself, this whole place is a dream version of Pi'illo Castle. Do you remember seeing anything that looks like that rock in the real castle?"

No, I don't... Could it have something to do with why I can't wake up?"

"_That is correct."_

Both brothers jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

"_The rock is called...a nightmare chunk," _the voice continued. _"You must...destroy it."_

"Do you think it's safe to break it?" Dreamy Luigi asked timidly.

"Might as well try," Mario said bravely. He walked under the "nightmare chunk" and jumped with his fist raised to punch it. Cracks started to form on the rock.

"Hey, it's working!" Dreamy Luigi ran to help his brother.

After a few more punches the rock shattered, leaving behind what appeared to be a pillow. It fell to the ground, groaned, then floated up to face the brother.

"My thanks for setting me free," it said gratefully.

Mario stared at it in a daze.

_Is that... There's no way! Could that be...a Pi'illo?_


	4. The Story of the Pi'illo Kingdom

**Look at that; we're up to chapter four already! :o****_And_, this is around the average number of chapters for APW, but there's still plenty more to write! This is so fun! XD**

**MVFBattleEevee: Thanks, that means a lot to me. :3****I guess I tend to be the same sometimes. ^^;**

* * *

"Are you...are you a Pi'illo?" Mario asked, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I am." The Pi'illo smiled at the brothers. "My name is Dreambert. I am the prince of Pi'illo Island. It is nice to meet you!"

"What are you doing my dream?" Dreamy Luigi asked, looking confused. Although he was surprised, he sounded much calmer than Mario. "Is this...like some sort of vision being caused by the rock I'm sleeping on?"

Dreambert laughed a bit. "Not quite. That rock is actually me".

Dreamy Luigi went from looking mildly surprised to full out shocked.

"What?! _You're _the rock I'm sleeping on?"

"Yes. By resting on me, your dreams are taking place in the Dream World. A world where dreams and reality meet." The Pi'illo prince looked thoughtfully at Mario. "And the presents of a being from the real world tells me you have opened a path to the Dream World in the real world. Is that not so?"

"A path to the Dream World...?" Mario's eyes widened. "Oh! You must mean that portal I jumped through to get here. It appeared above Luigi's head soon after he fell asleep."

"Indeed; the way for one to enter the Dream World without going to sleep is through a portal made by another who is at one with sleep. Of course, this only works when that one is asleep on a Pi'illo.

"I can sense you had no idea where the portal would take you, so tell me, brave one; why did you enter it?"

"In the real world Luigi wouldn't wake up," Mario explained. "I thought I could find a way to wake him up by going into the portal."

"I see..." The prince looked embarrassed. "I hope you won't be too upset with me...but it is my fault you could not awaken him."

"Your fault? But...why?"

"It has been so long since anyone has come to this island. When the one you call Luigi rested on me, I saw a chance to finally awaken my kingdom from its long sleep. I feared that if he woke up before I could get him to set me free, it would be many more years before my next chance for freedom. So I used what strength I had left to keep him trapped in a deep sleep." The Pi'illo bowed his head–or rather his whole body as he was in the form of a pillow so his head and body were one. "I am deeply sorry for causing you worry, but I had to be set free from this curse so I can rescue my people!"

Mario nodded. "I understand. As long as Luigi is okay, I guess I can't be too upset. And besides, you've been asleep for so long, I think it's about time you woke up."

"Thank you...for understanding."

"So...now what?" Dreamy Luigi asked. "Now that you're free, will your body return to normal in the real world?"

"Yes, once you wake up in the real world I will return to my normal state. I can awaken you right now, but first..." The Pi'illo made a portal that looked like the one Mario had jumped into earlier appear. "We cannot leave a person from the real world here in the Dream World after you wake up. Brave one! Jump through this portal to go back to the real world."

"My name is Mario," the man in red laughed before jumping into the portal.

"As for you, Luigi–or rather, Dreamy Luigi," Dreambert said with a smile as the portal closed. "I get the feeling we will meet again some day soon."

* * *

Dusk paced around the large room nervously, wondering what was taking Mario so long.

Over half an hour had gone by, and he still hadn't returned from wherever the portal had taken him.

"Where are you?" Dusk wondered out loud. "Mario... Please, come back soon!"

She continued to pace until she heard noise coming from the portal. She turned to see what was causing it just in time to see Mario jump out of the portal unharmed.

"Uncle Mario!" She raced to her uncle and hugged him tightly. "What happened in there? And what took so long? Are you okay?!"

Mario chuckled softly and hugged the girl back.

"It's alright, I'm fine. You wouldn't believe it, Dusk; the portal took me inside Luigi's dream! It was quite an adventure. And his dream we rescued a–"

Before he could say anymore, Luigi gave a sleepy groan and sat up.

"That was a refreshing nap," he mumbled, not quite fully awake.

"Dad!" Overjoyed that he was finally awake, Dusk ended her hug with Mario and tackled Luigi a big hug while tears of relief flooded her eyes. "You're awake! Me and Mario were so worried– Dad...the rock...turned into a person."

The three humans had failed to notice Prince Dreambert returning to his true form. He sat quietly the whole time, not wanting to interrupt the happy moment taking place.

Having been noticed, he smiled at Dusk. "Hello."

"H-hi..." Noticing her father's and uncle's lack of surprise, the girl said to them, "You two don't seem surprised. How come?"

Luigi smiled. "Dusk, this the prince of Pi'illo Island, Dreambert. Me and Mario met him in my dream. Dreambert, this my daughter, Dusk."

"It is nice to meet you, Dusk," Dreambert said politely.

"I-it's nice to meet you, too... You...were in my dad's dream?"

It took a few minutes to explain what had happened in the portal, but soon after Dusk began to understand.

"I see," she said. "That's pretty interesting. But, Prince Dreambert...why have you and your people been asleep all this time?"

"Ah. It's quite a long story..." The prince turned his attention to a near by window. "Hmm, it appears to be rather late judging from how dark it is outside. I will tell you three the story of my kingdom in the morning; for now I have no doubt you would rather be sleeping."

"It's dark out there because there's a storm going on," Mario explained. "It's actually the middle of the afternoon."

"Oh?" Noticing the sound of rain for the first time and hearing thunder rumble in the disance, Dreambert looked slightly embarrassed. "I see. In that case...please allow me to share with you the story of what caused my kingdom to fall.

"It started one day when a Pi'illo went to sleep and did not wake up again."

"You mean...like they were in a coma?" Mario asked.

"Yes. Only...there seemed to be no reason for them to fall into this coma. They were perfectly healthy and had not been severely injured in any way; no one could figure out what caused them to remain in an endless slumber. Many tried to awaken them, but nothing worked. Because nothing could be done to help them, their game ended before long.

"It was an unsettling incident, but we did not realize it was only the first case of many to happen. As more and more of us fell into this endless sleep, we wondered if wasn't cause by as sort of illness. It was a very dark time for the Pi'illo Kingdom; we could only watch as the ones we loved faded away in their sleep and pray the ones unaffected would wake up after they went to bed for the night."

"That must have been awful," Dusk said softly. "How long did that go on?"

"It went on for much too long," Dreambert said in a voice as quiet as Dusk's had just been. "Before we knew it, about half of the island's population had been lost. So many lost their family during that time...including me."

The three humans gasped in horror, wondering what could have cause such a terrible thing to happen to this nice little island.

"Did anyone ever find out what caused that whole thing to happen?" Luigi asked, looking uneasy.

The Pi'illo shook his head sadly.

"Unfortunately, no. And just when we thought it could not get worse, Antasma showed his face."

"Antasma?" Mario questioned. "Who is he? Is he the one who turned you and your people into rock pillows?"

"Yes. He did so using the Dark Stone. He shattered it, causing anyone to be hit by the fragments to become petrified." The prince looked visibly upset at the memory. "When things were going wrong, he had the nerve to show up and make everything worse. Before we could find out why he had come, Antasma shattered the Dark Stone and there was nothing anybody could do after that."

"Hmm..." Mario looked thoughtful before saying, "It might just be me...but it seems like we're missing a piece of the puzzle here. Why would Antasma come to the island out of the blue like that and petrify all of the Pi'illos? There must have been _some _sort of reason."

"You are right, but I know not what the reason was. He lived quietly on a very small island near this one as a king of bats; we did not even think of him as our enemy until that day."

"I see," Luigi quietly. "Well, I guess now we know what happened to the Pi'illo Kingdom..."

"Oh, is that why you three came to this island?" Dreambert asked, beginning to calm down again.

"Well...it's part of the reason why," Mario began. "And it's not just us; there are three others that came with us. But due to the storm they went overboard had to swim to land. We came to the castle to wait for them; but I would imagine they're going to wait for the storm to end before coming here."

"Oh my... I hope they will be alright. As soon as the storm has passed, I would glad to help you look for them, if you would rather not wait for them to find you."

"What about the other Pi'illos?" Dusk asked. "Wouldn't you rather look for them and try to help them?"

Dreambert smiled. "While I am worried about my people, they will be fine if I wait a little while before finding them. No harm should come to them. Besides, I do not think I can save them on my own; if you don't mind, Luigi...I may ask your assistance in rescuing them when the time is right."

"Hey, I don't mind," Luigi said. "When we find the others I'm sure they could help, too."

"I thank you; the Pi'illo Kingdom will truly be in debt to you for your kindness. As for the other helping, we'll see. As I'm sure you have figured, you need to be asleep to reach the Dream World, and very few people can fall asleep as soon as their head meets with a Pi'illo in their pillow form. Rescuing my people may have to be a process that takes place during the night."

"That makes sense." Luigi stood up and stretched a bit. "Well, since it wouldn't be a good idea to go out in the storm, why not search for other Pi'illos here in the castle? I'm still kind of tired; maybe I can open the portal to the Dream World again."

"Good idea," Dusk said, standing up as well. "It would be better than sitting around doing nothing."

"Very well. I can show you around the castle while we search."

The three went ahead, and Mario stayed behind, thinking.

If they were going to save all of the Pi'illo folk, they would need food to feed all of them. And seeing as no one had lived on the island for years, it was unlikely they would find very much food.

The man stared out into the rain for a few moments before taking his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing a number. After a few rings someone answered.

"Hello, Peach? I have amazing news to tell you! But I also have a favor to ask of you..."

* * *

**So...announcement time! Over the next few days I plan to re-read all of the stories and chapters I've ever written and fix any mistakes I might have missed while prove-reading them the first time. I really hate doing things like leaving a word out or using the wrong word. Gah, so annoying. :p  
**

**Anyway, with any luck I'll be done with all that before the end of the week. Just thought I'd let you all know. :)**

**~Dawn**


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